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Education NewsTue, 02 May 2017 19:05:04 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.2Pennsylvania Moves to Monitor Virtual Charter Schoolshttp://www.educationnews.org/online-schools/pennsylvania-moves-to-monitor-virtual-charter-schools/
http://www.educationnews.org/online-schools/pennsylvania-moves-to-monitor-virtual-charter-schools/#commentsWed, 07 Sep 2016 13:00:03 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=283892Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has announced the creation of a new division within the state department specifically meant to make improvements to charter schools in the state — and especially online schools. The main focus of the new division will be on increasing accountability for the 14 virtual charter schools in the state, which are authorized […]

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Kristin Decarr

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has announced the creation of a new division within the state department specifically meant to make improvements to charter schools in the state — and especially online schools.

The main focus of the new division will be on increasing accountability for the 14 virtual charter schools in the state, which are authorized and overseen by the Pennsylvania Education Department.

However, the group will also have an influence over the operations of the almost 180 physical charter schools in the state as well. These schools are authorized by local school districts, and the monitoring will take the form of instructional best practices and professional development for teachers.

The division was created by repurposing four currently vacant positions, as the state budget crisis last year had left school districts with too little funding. Work is expected to begin early next year.

“One of the things that we’re going to be doing is we’re going to be more vigilant in our monitoring, actually going out to visit our cyber charter schools,” said Executive Deputy Secretary David Volkman, referring to the online schools’ administrative offices. “We haven’t done that with any kind of regularity over the last couple of years.”

Meanwhile, a sketch by John Oliver featured on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” focused on fraud and financial mismanagement by charter operators, including some in Pennsylvania. In addition, a recent report by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association suggested a need for an increase in accountability and transparency in charter schools in the state, writes Mark Keierleber for The 74.

An audit has also been released by the state auditor general calling the charter school law in Pennsylvania “faulty” and adding that the education department’s process of dealing with payment disputes between public school districts and charters is “inconsistent, confusing, and conflicting.”

And on the same day the announcement was made by Wolf, the founder and former CEO of a Pennsylvania online charter school pleaded guilty to diverting more than $8 million from the school.

In all, around 30,000 students in the state enrolled in cyber charter schools last year, an increase from around 27,000 in the 2011-12 school year. However, despite this increase in enrollment, critics continue to suggest that the schools are unable to adequately educate their students.

A study released over the summer by 50CAN, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and the National Association of Charter School Organizers suggested the need for those charter schools found to be chronically low-performing to be shut down. The report looked at more than 100 full-time charter schools in 17 states.

The study found that students in Pennsylvania typically progressed as if they had attended school for 101 less days of school for reading and 167 less days for math when compared to students enrolled in traditional schools.

However, those who support cyber charter schools maintain that the schools offer an important alternative for students who do not benefit from traditional public schools.

There are some students that this model is really working for,” said Jonathan Cetel, executive director of PennCAN, the state branch of 50CAN. “But some parents are treating cyber schools as the only space where their kid is safe. They’re choosing the school as a last resort. We need to be looking deeper into who is doing well.”

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Kristin Decarr

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/online-schools/pennsylvania-moves-to-monitor-virtual-charter-schools/feed/0Pennsylvania’s Upper Darby Center of Redistricting Controversyhttp://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/pennsylvanias-upper-darby-center-of-redistricting-controversy/
http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/pennsylvanias-upper-darby-center-of-redistricting-controversy/#commentsSat, 03 Sep 2016 15:00:07 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=283712Schools will open and function for students in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, but the district continues to be entangled in drama that started during summer break and included the assumed firing of its superintendent. It then grew into a dispute over alleged racial inequalities, and now the NAACP has stepped into the fracas. The fighting began during the […]

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Grace Smith

Schools will open and function for students in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, but the district continues to be entangled in drama that started during summer break and included the assumed firing of its superintendent. It then grew into a dispute over alleged racial inequalities, and now the NAACP has stepped into the fracas.

The fighting began during the last school year and involves Superintendent Richard F. Dunlap, Jr. The 2015-2016 school year was Dunlap’s third year of leading one of the most diverse districts in the region, and it was also his last, according to Kathy Boccella of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

To minimize class overcrowding at specific elementary schools, Dunlap suggested that some children be assigned to schools outside their zones. But after a school board meeting July 20 which was closed to the public, Dunlap left his position and his $194,866 per year salary.

Though community members did not know why this occurred, some said that his proposal and its possibility of changing the demographic makeup of some schools that were predominantly white in the township was the reason for his downfall.

The Delaware County NAACP chapter is preparing to investigate whether the Upper Darby School District (UDSD) had discriminated by putting lower-income minority pupils in crowded schools, along with busing almost 300 students from the Millborne zone to a rented physical plant six miles from Glenolden, which is outside the district. The NAACP noted it was:

“… concerned about anyone who opposes the best education for all kids, who supports segregating children, so . . . we are doing some investigating,” said Joan Duvall-Flynn, president of the media branch and a member of the group’s state conference.

Duvall-Flynn added that her chapter is asking the US Department of Education to look for violations of students’ civil rights and requesting an interview with district employees and board members. She continues by stating that public hearings may be held so residents can be a part of the discussion.

“The district has not heard from the NAACP or the Department of Justice,” wrote district spokeswoman Dana Spino Monday afternoon. “The district believes the allegations are not credible.”

State Rep. Margo Davidson (D-164) pointed out that the Senkow student makeup is 78% low-income, 96% persons of color and is the highest performing school in the district, writes Kevin Tustin, reporting for The Delaware County Daily Times. But they have been bussed across three school districts to Glenolden when there is a school within walking distance from their home in Garrettford.

Dunlap’s proposal was criticized by some elected officials of the Delaware County District, such as Mayor Thomas N. Micozzie, but there were those who agreed with Dunlap’s plan, which was developed by an educational management company named DMC.

Not all the opponents based their disagreement with the proposal on racial diversity. There were those who questioned the undesirable scheduling requirements for teachers and the loss of 14 faculty jobs based on attrition.

Miccozzie was troubled by the plan’s effect on real estate values when parents find that their children will not be attending the school nearest their homes, adds Kathy Boccella, reporting for the Philadelphia Media Network.

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Grace Smith

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/pennsylvanias-upper-darby-center-of-redistricting-controversy/feed/0Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School Founder Guilty of Tax Fraudhttp://www.educationnews.org/online-schools/pennsylvania-cyber-charter-school-founder-guilty-of-tax-fraud/
http://www.educationnews.org/online-schools/pennsylvania-cyber-charter-school-founder-guilty-of-tax-fraud/#commentsMon, 29 Aug 2016 12:00:50 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=283504The former CEO of Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School has pleaded guilty to charges of tax conspiracy after being accused of stealing around $8 million in school funds for his own personal use. Nicholas Trombetta, 61, put together a number of connected for-profit and not-for-profit entities in order to take taxpayer funds away from PA Cyber […]

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Kristin Decarr

The former CEO of Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School has pleaded guilty to charges of tax conspiracy after being accused of stealing around $8 million in school funds for his own personal use.

Nicholas Trombetta, 61, put together a number of connected for-profit and not-for-profit entities in order to take taxpayer funds away from PA Cyber in order to hide it from the IRS and avoid federal income tax liabilities.

Trombetta was indicted in 2013 on 11 counts including mail fraud, theft, and filing a false tax return, according to David J. Hickton, US Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

The accusations state he had falsified corporate books and records in an effort to hide over $8 million in income by moving the money to the tax returns of other people. Authorities say the scheme is thought to have gone on from 2006 until 2012.

It is thought that Trombetta spent a portion of the money on a corporate jet, a condo in Florida, and other real estate.

Trombetta faces up to five years in prison. Sentencing has been scheduled for December. He will be free until then.

Many believed he would not agree to plea as he had appeared to back out during the hearing after refusing to agree with the government’s summary of the evidence brought against him. However, in the end he did admit to US District Judge Joy Flowers Conti the he had defrauded the US by moving income in order to hide it from the IRS.

He pleaded to tax conspiracy dating from 2006 to 2013, admitting he had moved around $8 million into accounts owned by his sister as well as four of the straw owners of a related company he a created, called Avanti Management Group, in order to conceal his true income.

Avanti Management was originally created in 2008 by Trombetta as a nonprofit to manage the cyber school and create its curriculum. The four straw owners were put in place in order to eventually assume control of the school and receive $500,000 each for reduced ownership.

Two of the straw owners became witnesses for the government by agreeing to have their conversations with Trombetta recorded, writes Torsten Ove for The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Co-defendant Neal Prence, an accountant, is set to go to trial. He requested a delay due to the Trombetta plea, but was denied.

Critics of Trombetta were happy to hear the news. Karen Beyer, a former state legislator from Lehigh County, said she was wary of cyber schools a number of years ago, adding that Trombetta previously threatened her after she brought into question the lack of financial review.

“I figured that justice would ultimately be served, that they would be found out — how he had defrauded the taxpayers of Pennsylvania,” she said. “We still have cybercharter schools that are unregulated. This plea should stand as a warning to the Legislature that they have got to do something about regulating these schools.”

The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, founded by Trombetta in 2000, is considered to be the largest and most successful cyber school in the state.

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Kristin Decarr

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/online-schools/pennsylvania-cyber-charter-school-founder-guilty-of-tax-fraud/feed/0Charter School Advocates, Governor Battle in Pennsylvaniahttp://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/charter-school-advocates-governor-battle-in-pennsylvania/
http://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/charter-school-advocates-governor-battle-in-pennsylvania/#commentsSun, 28 Aug 2016 13:00:56 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=283429The end of summer brings with it the start of a fresh school year. However, while students sharpen their pencils and gather their textbooks, charter schools continue to remain a topic of division between the Pennsylvanian government and charter school advocates. Funding for charter schools has been an area of debate within the state in […]

The end of summer brings with it the start of a fresh school year. However, while students sharpen their pencils and gather their textbooks, charter schools continue to remain a topic of division between the Pennsylvanian government and charter school advocates.

Funding for charter schools has been an area of debate within the state in the past and most recently has been a point of contention for government expenditure. A report out last week from the Pennsylvanian School Boards Association states that spending on administration requirements for conventional schools is around half of what is spent on charter schools, which spend more on services and facilities.

Pennsylvanian Governor Tom Wolf announced changes to the oversight of charter schools following the unsuccessful introduction of a House Bill over a year ago, which aimed to implement new funding formulas for charters and establish authorization boards. Instead, Gov. Wolf has announced a new division in the Department of Education, which will be solely dedicated to the sector, writes Kevin McCorry from Keystone Crossroads.

In a statement, Gov. Wolf explained that:

“Charter schools play an important role in our education system, but that role must be accompanied by sufficient oversight…Establishing this new division within the Department of Education will allow us to maximize our resources to not only ensure charters are being properly supported, but that they are being held accountable to taxpayers.”

The charter school model is contentious and lawmakers are being urged to consider revising the state’s charter school legislation, with the State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale stating that Pennsylvania has some of the least effective charter schools in the country, writes Katherine Schaeffer from The Times Online.

Tim Eller, spokesman for the Keystone Alliance of Public Charter Schools, says many of the announcements made by Gov. Wolf are already being performed and are “a duplication of services”, reports Kathy Boccella of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

At a panel discussion on charter schools on Wednesday at the Pyramid Club in Center City, Farah Jimenez, the president/CEO of Philadelphia Education Fund and a member of the Philadelphia’s School Reform Commission said that a major issue regarding charter schools is the requirement for a high level of parent engagement, writes Darryl Murphy of the Philadelphia Public School online publication The Notebook.

Jimenez offered the following critique of the sector at the forum:

“[T]here is an affirmative, active role that a parent or family must play in order to get their child engaged with the charter sector. It requires their choice, their activism, their enrolment, their application…“The bigger question, really, is how does one engage parents and community with the District schools, where you can be a passive consumer of that service? That’s where the work really needs to go.”

Murphy also outlines that other panellists raised points at the forum regarding the need to look to international models of charter schools to understand more about what works and what doesn’t work.

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/charter-school-advocates-governor-battle-in-pennsylvania/feed/0Refugee Students in Pennsylvania Sue Over School Placementhttp://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/refugee-students-in-pennsylvania-sue-over-school-placement/
http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/refugee-students-in-pennsylvania-sue-over-school-placement/#commentsSun, 21 Aug 2016 13:00:50 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=282942Lancaster, Pennsylvania resident Khadidja Issa, who is originally from Sudan, was five years old when she began her decade-long stay in a Chadian refugee camp because of the civil war in her country. She emigrated to Pennsylvania in September of 2015 and said her family came to the state to get a better education. But […]

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Grace Smith

Lancaster, Pennsylvania resident Khadidja Issa, who is originally from Sudan, was five years old when she began her decade-long stay in a Chadian refugee camp because of the civil war in her country. She emigrated to Pennsylvania in September of 2015 and said her family came to the state to get a better education.

But Issa and five fellow refugee pupils claim that district officials have denied her and her fellow refugees that opportunity by stopping them from being enrolled. Others have been put in an alternative school that is substandard, or as their attorneys said is a “dead-end,” according to Colin Deppen of PA Media Group.

The class action suit is just one of several that have been filed against school districts across the country as global instability forces immigrants to the West. Lancaster has a history of welcoming refugees and has the highest number of annual arrivals in the state.

But district officials are being accused of violating the federal Equal Education Opportunities Act. The complaint also alleges that administrators have sent older refugee students to a “disciplinary school” where they were bullied, endured extreme security rules, and were exposed to a learning program that was accelerated in a way that contradicts the conventional manner in which the subject should be taught.

There are six plaintiffs in all, and they range from 17 years old to 21 years old. One of their attorneys, Eric Rothschild, along with lawyers from the ACLU and the Education Law Center, argued that the district denied enrollment to older refugee students and detoured others by sending them to a questionable alternative program.

The district countered that the alternative school, Phoenix Academy, was more suitable to the needs of the older refugee pupils than the larger, more conventional McClaskey High.

But the plaintiffs’ attorneys said the alternative school was more like a “police state” and was holding English Language Learners back because of the fast pace of the instruction. Issa noted:

“In America, a good education is important. Without it,” she added, “you’ll have a very hard life.”

Somali refugee Qassim Hassan, whose father was murdered by militiamen in that country, said the procedures used at Phoenix Academy for security reasons made him “hate the school and hate the system.”

In Pennsylvania, according to school code, all residents between 6 and 21 are to be given a free public education. The UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention international treaty requires that refugees receive the same public education as residents of the country where they settle.

Federal Judge Edward G. Smith is presiding for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s Eastern location.

O’Donnell continued by saying that English Language Learners are “spoon fed” their English as a Second Language curriculum. She also explained that there were “copious amounts” of help to be had at Phoenix Academy.

But the refugee students want to attend McCaskey High School this year because the school has an international school program that is designed to assist ELL pupils as they transition into traditional education, says Kara Newhouse of Lancaster Online.

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Grace Smith

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/refugee-students-in-pennsylvania-sue-over-school-placement/feed/0Pennsylvania Audit Questions Charter School Lease Reimbursementshttp://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/pennsylvania-audit-questions-charter-school-lease-reimbursements/
http://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/pennsylvania-audit-questions-charter-school-lease-reimbursements/#commentsSat, 06 Aug 2016 16:00:07 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=282257Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale has said that the $2.5 million collected by nine charter schools as reimbursement from the state was “questionable” and needs to be paid back. The issue came up during an audit released earlier in the week detailing the Propel Charter School System in Allegheny County. However, DePasquale noted that similar issues […]

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Kristin Decarr

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale has said that the $2.5 million collected by nine charter schools as reimbursement from the state was “questionable” and needs to be paid back.

The issue came up during an audit released earlier in the week detailing the Propel Charter School System in Allegheny County. However, DePasquale noted that similar issues have come up in almost one-third of the 40 charter school audits performed by his office since he took the position in 2013.

“What we found in some of our audits the same people who own and operate charter schools create separate legal entities to own the buildings and lease them to their charter schools,” DePasquale said. “We keep finding it and supplying the information to the department and they do nothing with it.”

A review of the auditor general’s report is underway with plans to continue a discussion with stakeholders on the matter. However, Education Department spokeswoman Casey Smith has confirmed the idea that charter schools may not request reimbursement on buildings they own. She added that charter school CEOs “are required to sign a self-certification statement verifying that the charter school does not own the building and that the building is being used for educational purposes.”

At the same time, Alan Shuckrow, a lawyer for Propel, supports the lease reimbursement payments made to the school, arguing that no conflict of interest exists between the charitable organization that owns the building and Propel schools.

“From Propel’s perspective, we’re following the law and if the law changes, we’ll comply with that law,” Shuckrow said. “I think it’s more of a public policy issue with charter schools that the auditor general raises and how this could or should work from a policy standpoint.”

DePasquale is also questioning a number of lease reimbursements made to other charter schools in the state, totaling $2.5 million all together. Robert Fayfich, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools, suggests the conflict stems from different interpretations of the state guidelines. While DePasquale did acknowledge that it was not the fault of the charter schools to have applied for reimbursement, he said that the department should not have made the payments, adding that the money could have been put to better use.

He went on to say that the charter school law currently in effect in the state is one of the worst in the nation and is in need of reform. While a reform was pushed by lawmakers during a last-minute rush to finish the 2016-17 state budget, it failed to go through.

Meanwhile, a new Division of Charter Schools is currently being created within the department. The division will be in charge of monitoring and offering support to all areas of charter school performance, such as investigations, on-site monitoring visits, and other technical assistance.

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Kristin Decarr

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/pennsylvania-audit-questions-charter-school-lease-reimbursements/feed/0Pennsylvania Approves Tuition Increase, Costs Remain Lowhttp://www.educationnews.org/higher-education/pennsylvania-approves-tuition-increase-costs-remain-low/
http://www.educationnews.org/higher-education/pennsylvania-approves-tuition-increase-costs-remain-low/#commentsThu, 21 Jul 2016 14:00:16 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=281375The Board of Governors of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education have approved the smallest percentage tuition increase in over a decade due to the efforts of universities in the state to contain their costs and a second year in a row of increased investment by the Commonwealth. In all, tuition at the 14 State System universities […]

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Kristin Decarr

The Board of Governors of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education have approved the smallest percentage tuition increase in over a decade due to the efforts of universities in the state to contain their costs and a second year in a row of increased investment by the Commonwealth.

In all, tuition at the 14 State System universities will see a 2.5% increase for the 2016-17 school year, amounting to an $89 per semester increase for students. For most full-time students from Pennsylvania, which make up around 90% of all State System students, the increase means they will pay $3,619 per semester, or $7,238 for the full year. Even after the increase goes into effect, the State System will continue to be the lowest-cost option for four-year colleges and universities in the state.

Students at Millersville University will be subject to a higher tuition increase of 6% due to the per-credit tuition pilot program at the school. Implemented in 2014, the program allows all students at the school to pay tuition by credit rather than at a flat rate. The higher rate is the result of discounts included in the program which are being gradually phased out, writes Tim Stuhldreher for Lancaster Online.

The combined efforts of the State System have resulted in the elimination of close to $300 million in expenditures as a result of combining operation budgets over the last ten years in order to keep costs down for students and balance budgets. At the same time, the Commonwealth has increased their funding contribution to the State System by close to $31.5 million over the last two years after seven years in a row of either flat or reduced general fund appropriations.

“We are grateful to the Legislature and Governor Wolf for the increased investment in our students and our universities, and we pledge to make the most of that investment, to help ensure our students have continued access to high-quality, high-value educational experiences that will lead to their future success,” said newly elected Board Chair Cynthia D. Shapira.

The 2016-17 state budget includes an increase for the State System, going from $412.8 million in 2014-15 to $444.2 million. The System received an increase of around $20.6 million last year and will receive an additional increase of $10.8 million this year.

“The funding we receive from the state represents an important investment that benefits not only our students, but also the Commonwealth, where the vast majority of our students reside and where they will remain after graduation to live, work and raise their families,” said Chancellor Frank T. Brogan. “Their success is very much tied to Pennsylvania’s success.”

Nonresident, undergraduate tuition at the schools will see an increase of 2.5%, ranging from $10,858 to $18,096 for the 2016-17 school year. The technology fee is set at $448 for full-time residents and $682 for full-time nonresidents.

Meanwhile, the resident graduate tuition rate will be $483 per credit, resulting from an increase of $13. The nonresident graduate tuition rate will increase by $20 for a total of $725 per credit.

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Kristin Decarr

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/higher-education/pennsylvania-approves-tuition-increase-costs-remain-low/feed/0Pittsburgh Approves Transgender Nondiscrimination Policyhttp://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/pittsburgh-approves-transgender-nondiscrimination-policy/
http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/pittsburgh-approves-transgender-nondiscrimination-policy/#commentsSat, 02 Jul 2016 18:00:17 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=280258A new policy has been unanimously approved by the Pittsburgh Public Schools Board that will allow transgender and gender expansive students, who identify outside of gender categories, to use pronouns, names, and bathrooms that they identify with. The policy will take effect in the coming school year. Board member Moira Kaleida approved the policy, calling it […]

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Kristin Decarr

A new policy has been unanimously approved by the Pittsburgh Public Schools Board that will allow transgender and gender expansive students, who identify outside of gender categories, to use pronouns, names, and bathrooms that they identify with. The policy will take effect in the coming school year.

“The next steps will be for principals and administrators, security guards, nurses to get fully trained throughout the summer,” Kaleida said. “That’s why it was important we get it passed as soon as possible. Not only to be in compliance with the law, but so that we can start doing the appropriate training needed for all the staff in the schools.”

Kaleida went on to say that she is responsible for initiating the plan and that she created it from one already in place at Brashear High School, which was implemented in the 2014-15 school year.

Despite a unanimous vote, board member Cynthia Falls said that she still felt that opposing viewpoints had not been heard during the board’s public workshop held in May. While she did approve the policy citing federal regulations, she said due diligence was needed for those with differing viewpoints.

No physical changes will be made to school bathrooms. Rather, students will simply be allowed to enter and use the bathroom they feel comfortable using without needing to provide any medical proof of transition or parental consent. Private bathrooms will also be made available, reports Sarah Schneider for WESA.

In addition, teachers and staff members will be required to use each individual student’s preferred pronoun and name, without a legal name change or parental consent. The policy also discusses students’ right to privacy, particularly pertaining to keeping transgender status private. The policy does not allow teachers to disclose any information on the topic to parents or other students without receiving permission from the student first, reports Lisa Washington for CBS Pittsburgh.

Reaction from parents has been mixed. While a number feel that policy is a step in the right direction for the district, PPS parent Steven Abate said that although it is obvious that those who wrote the policy care for students, he is concerned that it may endanger those it is meant to protect.

“I’m not worried about my daughter being in a bathroom or a locker room with a bunch of boys dressed as girls or transgender girls,” Abate said. “I’m more concerned about the transgender boy who insists on going into the locker room with a group of boys. Does that group of boys … do they see a boy or do they see a girl?”

Abate added that he would like to see a revision made that includes a requirement for the written support of parents of the students who plan to change their identity.

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Kristin Decarr

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/pittsburgh-approves-transgender-nondiscrimination-policy/feed/0Philadelphia Schools Formalize Transgender Student Protectionshttp://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/philadelphia-schools-formalize-transgender-student-protections/
http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/philadelphia-schools-formalize-transgender-student-protections/#commentsTue, 21 Jun 2016 19:00:34 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=279808The School Reform Commission of Philadelphia has approved a policy designed to protect the rights of transgender and nonconforming students in the Philadelphia School District. Under the new policy, students may be addressed by names and pronouns corresponding to their gender identity in interactions with other students and staff, on written records including class rosters […]

The School Reform Commission of Philadelphia has approved a policy designed to protect the rights of transgender and nonconforming students in the Philadelphia School District.

Under the new policy, students may be addressed by names and pronouns corresponding to their gender identity in interactions with other students and staff, on written records including class rosters and report cards, and they may participate in gender-segregated groups and facilities that correspond to their gender identity. According to ABC News, the new policies are effective immediately.

“We have worked closely with students and members of the LGBTQ community to develop these guidelines,” said Dr. William R. Hite, Superintendent. “Every student deserves to know their rights will be recognized and upheld at school. This policy provides clear guidance and will help to ensure that our schools remain welcoming to all of our students.”

According to Philly.com, the policy formalizes what had already been the Philadelphia school district’s informal policy. For example, a transgender student identifying as a girl would have been allowed to use a girls’ restroom or join a girls’ group even before these guidelines. The district, generally a considered a culturally liberal one, has developed an understanding of how to work with transgender issues effectively and sensitively.

As of yet, district officials do not know to how many students the new policy would apply. In the last seven years, about 30 families have asked district officials questions related to transgender gender rights. Officials expect the policy to apply to a relatively small cohort of students.

Philadelphia’s transgender policy is the latest in a flurry of progressive school guidelines concerning transgender rights in the region and country. In April, other school boards in Pennsylvania, like Springfield Township, Montgomery County, and Great Valley School District in Chester County adopted similar policies. In February, the school board in Cherry Hill, New Jersey did the same.

“The purpose of this policy is to ensure safety, equity, and justice for all students regardless of gender identity or gender expression so that they can reach their fullest human and intellectual potential,” the Philadelphia policy states.

Many believe that these changes have been spurred by the Obama administration’s directive last month that public schools must give transgender students the right to use facilities of their choice. The directive was delivered in the form of a letter from the U.S. Department of Education. National and some statewide Republican lawmakers denounced the action, but it was hailed by liberal activists and civil rights groups.

“It’s good federal policy to force school districts across the country to put in place policies that respect people’s dignity,” said Bill Green, a member of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission.

The city’s School Reform Commission also passed a measure that would allow each school to create an advisory council on which principals, parents, school staff, and students would serve. The council would have a voice in affecting things like the school budget and disciplinary policies.

For interested readers, the full press release of the School Reform Commission’s new guidelines is available online.

]]>http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/philadelphia-schools-formalize-transgender-student-protections/feed/0New Pittsburgh Super Under Fire for False Claims, Plagiarismhttp://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/new-pittsburgh-super-under-fire-for-false-claims-plagiarism/
http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/new-pittsburgh-super-under-fire-for-false-claims-plagiarism/#commentsFri, 17 Jun 2016 18:00:04 +0000http://www.educationnews.org/?p=279580Pittsburgh’s new superintendent of the city’s public schools is already under fire for alleged plagiarism charges. The school board has called an emergency meeting so Anthony Hamlet can address the situation. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Hamlet seems to have borrowed a line used in a Washington Post editorial to describe his educational philosophy on his […]

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Grace Smith

Pittsburgh’s new superintendent of the city’s public schools is already under fire for alleged plagiarism charges. The school board has called an emergency meeting so Anthony Hamlet can address the situation.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Hamlet seems to have borrowed a line used in a Washington Post editorial to describe his educational philosophy on his resume and a description stolen from an online dictionary to explain his qualifications as a “transformational leader.”

Hamlet is being accused of inflating his role in turning around struggling schools in Florida, and a board member is stating that she would consider revoking Hamlet’s $210,000 annual salary offer if, in fact, the allegations prove to be authentic.

So far, according to the Associated Press, Hamlet has not responded to the charges and could not be reached for comment by the AP before the Friday meeting.

“That’s game over to me,” board member Lynda Wrenn said. “I would press for a new search.”

Community activists have made it known that they believe Hamlet has been unjustly examined because he is black. Conversely, a former Pittsburgh NAACP president, Tim Stevens, who is currently the head of the Black Political Empowerment Project, pointed out that the black community had concerns about Hamlet’s record as well.

“The superintendent will control a budget larger than the city’s, and is shaping the future of our children,” Stevens said. “Anyone is going to be analyzed by the media, I don’t care what color they are.”

On Monday, the board asked Laurel Brandstetter, a Pittsburgh attorney who specializes in corporate and personnel investigations, to lead an inquiry into the concerns that had been voiced against Hamlet.

Hamlet, 43, called a news conference on Tuesday to discuss earlier allegations by the Palm Beach Post in Florida and the Pittsburgh media that he had misrepresented his success on his resume concerning his part in turning at-risk schools around.

Hamlet admitted that he made a mistake in reporting that when a principal at a Florida middle school from 2011 to 2014 he raised the school’s grade from an “F” to a “C” when it was only raised from a “D” to a “C.”

Hamlet did say, however, that the middle school’s state test performance rose from an “F” to a “C,” but Florida state officials declared that the ratings could not be broken down in that way. The reason for that was other factors, such as students’ readiness for college and graduation rates that are included in the total grade. Still, says Hamlet, the school rose to a “C” and remained at that rating under his leadership.

Elizabeth Behrman of Trib Total Media reports that during Hamlet’s first public speech on May 18 he referenced a definition from Wikipedia cited from BusinessDictionary.com. It was this speech in which he called himself a “transformational leader” without attributing the title to Wikipedia.

Pittsburgh School Board President Regina Holley said the board was won over by Hamlet’s explanation after he shared the information that supported his claims with the members.

And Palm Beach County Teachers Association President Kathi Gundlach was another champion of Hamlet has a candidate. She noted that his work as principal was outstanding and called him a “consummate professional.”